The significance of Bismillah

by Dr. Basharat Ahmad

(This article occurs at the commencement of
Anwar-ul-Quran, and was originally translated by Yahya Adnan Ahmad.)

Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim: "In (or with) the name
of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful."

Not only does the Holy Quran begin with this verse, but it also
heads every chapter of the Quran, except for Chapter 9. This verse
is a part of the Quranic revelation and through which the Holy Prophet
distinguished the separation of the various chapters. In short,
this verse keeps on recurring and possesses such depth that it has
been said that just as the Fatihah (the first chapter of
the Quran) summarizes the entire Holy Quran so does this verse summarize
the Fatihah. In other words this verse is the summary of
the summary of the Quran. Therefore, I will make a general commentary
on this verse, so that it will not be necessary to comment on this
verse at the beginning of every chapter. It may be noted, however,
that like the daily sun, this verse too shines with a new splendour
and power at the beginning of each chapter of the Quran.

Meaning

This verse is translated as "In (or with) the name of Allah,
who is Beneficent and Merciful". Here, the particle "Bi"
(meaning in or with) in the word "Bism"
represents a call for help. So the verse means:

"With the help of the name of Allah..."

Now it is apparent that a verb or action is implied in this sentence
and by studying the Quran one realizes that this verb is iqra
which means 'read' or 'recite'. This is in line with the hadith where
it is written that an angel appeared to the Holy Prophet, while he
was engaged in his usual worship of God at the cave of Hira. The angel
said: iqra, i.e. read. The Holy Prophet replied: "I do
not know how to read". The angel repeated the same words and
the Holy Prophet repeated his answer. And so it happened three times.
The fourth time the angel said: Iqra bismi rabbi-ka alladhi khalaq,
i.e. read in the name of your Lord who created (the Holy Quran, 95:1).
Then the Holy Prophet started reciting. So it is clear that the verb
implied before "In the Name of Allah" is iqra, i.e.
to read or recite with the name of Allah. This verb is not explicitly
stated because when a person recites the Quran, the use of the word
iqra, which is a command, would not be eloquent. The worshipper
at that time is fulfilling the order. Therefore at the time of recitation
the implied verb is aqrau, i.e. "I read". The subtlety
in this is that when the revelation descended from God, then because
the sentence reflects a command of God, so the implied verb is iqra,
i.e. "Read" (imperative), and when the worshipper recites
the Quran then because he is at that time fulfilling the commandment
of God, the implied verb would be understood to be aqrau i.e.
"I read or recite with the help of the name of God..."

Another advantage of keeping the verb implicit is that when a person
recites bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim at the beginning of
any work then whatever he is going to do would be considered implied
in the sentence. That is, this call for God's help is not restricted
to the recitation of the Holy Quran but is asked for at the beginning
of each and every work so that God's help is asked for in that work.
Thus in the hadith "kul amr la yabd fihi bismillah ar-rahman
ar-rahim fa huwa ajzam," that is "any work started
without reciting bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim is without
blessing", and certainly if any person starts his works by
asking for the help of God then his work will be blessed.

The word Allah

To understand the meaning of the two attributes of God ar-rahman
and ar-rahim specially mentioned here, it is necessary to study
the meaning of these words. Allah is the personal name of God
the most high, and this is the greatest name and incorporates within
it all the other names of God. It is certainly not derived from ilah
(God) for ilah is used for that which is worshipped besides
God, whereas the word Allah has never, either before or after
the advent of Islam, been used for any other object of worship. Nor
is "Allah" a shortened form of al-ilah (the God),
for if it were so then when the particle of invocation ya (O!)
preceded it, then al would be dropped. For instance, al-Rahman
(The Beneficent, pronounced ar-Rahman) is a name of God. When
the particle ya precedes it, the al is dropped. We call
on God by saying: ya Rahman (O Beneficent!) and not as ya
al-rahman (O the Beneficent!). In the same way if Al in
Allah was an addition to the word ilah then on using
the invocative ya, the prefix Al would be dropped and
instead of saying ya Allah (O Allah) we would say ya ilah.
But this is not what happens, so it is apparent that Al is
not a prefix to ilah but is an integral part of the word Allah.

To sum up, Allah is an independent word which is the personal
name of God, and this is unique to the Arabic language as no other
language has a personal name for God. The Quran itself explains
the meaning of the name Allah where it states:

That is, Allah means a being who possesses the complete
perfect attributes. Now no attribute is perfect unless it possesses
within itself both Husn (beauty) and Ihsan (beneficence).That
is, on the one hand the attribute has no fault, flaw or dependency
and is thus perfect in its Husn and on the other hand its
Ihsan, that is the benefits of the attribute, should also
be reaching creation. For instance generosity is a husn but
no matter to what extent it is present in any being, until its Ihsan,
that is its beneficence, reaches some other being, then until that
time it is of no import whether that attribute exists or does not
exist. That is why God's attributes are not only perfect in their
Husn (Goodness/beauty) but are also perfect in their Ihsan
(Beneficence) and it is the blessing of these attributes which is
responsible for the emergence and sustenance of the entire creation.

Rahman and Rahim

Ar-rahman (the beneficent) is he whose generosity is so great
that before the birth of man and without any effort or labour on man's
part, the entire resources required for his sustenance were provided
while Ar-rahim refers to the mercy which is granted repeatedly,
and these attributes manifest themselves time and again and have an
excellent and improving effect on each person's actions. That is why
it is stated in the Hadith that God most high, is the rahman
(beneficent) of this world and the rahim (merciful) of the
hereafter. This is because Rahman before the birth of man,
merely out of his beneficence, provided the entire resources for the
sustenance and progress of man. So this entire world is a manifestation
of the attribute Rahman. The attribute Rahim rewards
man for good works and this is fully manifested in the hereafter.
That is, the initial resources are provided to man through Rahman
and when man through effort takes advantage of these resources, the
results achieved are decided through Rahim. Land, water, fire,
the sun, the moon, rain etc. exist due to the stipulation of the attribute
Rahman. Man's labour of ploughing and watering the land, is
rewarded manifold through the necessary stipulation of the attribute
Rahim,so that each seed sown can be returned seven hundred
fold. In the same way eyes, ears, hands, feet, intelligence and knowledge
are all a manifestation of God's Rahman (beneficence). When
man utilizes these resources and gets excellent results this is necessary
stipulation of the attribute Rahim.

So when a person starts a work by reciting Bismillah ar-rahman
ar-rahim he acknowledges and thanks God the most high for the
blessings which God provided merely out of the demands of his attribute
of Rahman. On the one hand man is asking God's help for knowledge,
provided due to the attribute Rahman, of the right path to
achieve his objective and on the other hand he is asking God's help,
provided through the attribute Rahim, that the works he carries
out produce excellent results. For example when a surgeon recites
Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim before an operation then at
that time his recitation is a prayer of help from God. He acknowledges
God's attribute of Rahman has provided him eyes, ears, hands,
feet, instruments and medicine and he uses them. But furthermore
he seeks that God through the attribute Rahman to provide
him with the correct knowledge and lead him on the correct path
so that he would achieve his purpose. From God's attribute Rahim
he seeks help that the results of the application of his surgical
knowledge are successful.

Similarly at a time of reading the Quran when a person recites
Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim he acknowledges this blessing
of God, that merely due to God's attribute of Rahman (beneficence)
a blessing such as the Quran was granted. As the Quran itself states:

Al-Rahman `alam al-Quran
"the Beneficent, He taught the Quran". (55:1-2)

Now at this time of taking advantage of the Quran he seeks from
the attribute al-Rahman that true knowledge of the Quran,
which when acted upon would lead to achieving his purpose in life
and from the attribute al-Rahim he seeks help that his good
actions would produce excellent results. In other words from the
attribute Rahman he seeks excellence in knowledge and from
the attribute Rahim he seeks excellence in works. It is apparent
in this call for help both this world and the hereafter are included.
To be successful in the world it is essential to possess correct
knowledge for without correct and complete knowledge no action,
whether for the world or the hereafter, produces effective or correct
results. And unless the results of works are correct and complete
there can be no success in the hereafter. The Quran contains all
the principles and guidance, by acting upon which, man can achieve
the goodness of this world and the hereafter. So at the time of
the recitation of the Quran, the prayer and call for help to God
that man utters in the form of Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim
means that from God's attribute Rahman he seeks such a complete
knowledge of this perfect Book of God, that acting in accordance
with this knowledge would lead him to inherit the goodness of this
world and the hereafter. From the attribute Rahim he seeks
that his works be of such perfection that from them would be produced
excellent and better results.

Summary of Fatiha

This is also the summary of the first Chapter of the Quran Al-Fatihah:
The call for help in Bismillah (In the name of God) in truth
stands together with iya-ka na`badu wa iya-ka nasta`in which
means "thee do we worship and thee do we ask for help". The attribute
Rahman contains the prayer ihdina sirat al-mustaqim
which means guide us on the correct path. And it is apparent that
this correct path is found through correct and complete knowledge
which is necessary stipulation of the attribute Rahman. The
attribute Rahim contains the blessing of the prayer sirat
alladhina an`amta `alaihim, that is, make our works and action
so perfect that we become part of those people who are blessed by
God. So when any person at the time of recitation of the Quran, or
at the time of any work, requests from God a perfect knowledge of
the correct path and for the ability to achieve excellence in works
and requests that these actions would provide successful results,
it is apparent that such a person has found the purpose of the Quran.
He is happy in this world and he is assured of success in the hereafter.
This is because the Quran was revealed so that mankind could achieve
excellence in both knowledge and works and it is on this excellence
of knowledge and works that success in this world and hereafter is
based.

So in this way Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim is not only
a summary of the Chapter Fatiha but is a summary of the whole
Quran. Whoever recites Bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim asks
for complete and correct knowledge as well as perfection in works
which produce excellent results. In other words he asked for knowledge
of the Quran and good works and further requested perfection in
these. One who receives the correct and complete knowledge of the
Quran and furthermore is blessed with excellence in works is successful
and achieves goodness in this world and the hereafter.

Names 'Ahmad' and 'Muhammmad' correspond
to Rahman and Rahim

The late Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the Mujaddid of this age,
has in his book Ijaz-ul-Masih given a subtle exposition, in
a sufi manner, about these successes. To summarize in a few sentences:
Allah, the most high, is perfect in Husn (Goodness/beauty)
and Ihsan (benevolence). When man, without any effort on his
own part, is granted through Allah's attribute of Rahman limitless
mercy and blessings and thus observes the Husn and Ihsan
of God, then in the heart of the worshipper a love for God is born.
As these blessings and the grace of Allah's Husn and Ihsan
descend upon the believer, his love for God keeps on increasing. It
is true that the more one loves something the more one praises it.
So, a person who reaches a position of excellence in the love of and
praise of Allah, the most high, is called Ahmad, that is one
who praises profusely and frequently. It is apparent the person who
so praises God and spreads this praise in the world, would become
the beloved of God, as required by the attribute of Rahim. Finally,
the more a person becomes a beloved of God, the more praiseworthy
he becomes. So, a person who, through his constant praise, attains
the highest stages of the position of beloved of God, would correspondingly
be highly worthy of praise and would be called Muhummad which
means one praised exceedingly. So the two names Ahmad and Muhummad
of our Holy Prophet (may peace and the blessings of God be upon him)
are in fact the manifestation of the two attributes Rahman
and Rahim of Allah the most high. These names reflect the best
results man can achieve through the help of these attributes of God
and there are no better meaningful names for this position than Ahmad
and Muhummad.